This afternoon.
Buswell’s Hotel, Dublin 2
Right2Water’s Brendan Ogle and Sinn Féin’s Jonathan O Brien TD announce plans to have what they have entitled ‘ the Last Push ‘ demonstration on April 8 in Dublin city.
Mr Ogle said:
“The demonstration on April 8th will allow the public to demonstrate that this issue is not an issue of political opportunism but is, and always has been, about vindication of our human Right2Water by paying for our water and sanitation through the exemplary model of progressive taxation.
I would like to reiterate our view that charges should be abolished in their entirety and that water metering, which is an enabler of charges, should also be abolished and the associated funds invested instead in our antiquated and leaking water infrastructure.“
Fight!
Rollingnews
Except it won’t be “the last push” – FF/FG have all sorts of sneaky little ruses up their sleeves yet. No matter, I personally will continue this fight until this valuable public resource is enshrined in public ownership – permanently. Further, the party shills who blather on about “people won’t pay for anything” should be ignored – it’s the only solution to their threadbare trolling. Water services have always been paid for by the public, and this will continue to be so. All that will be lost is the fat-cat salaries; the “saleable asset” i.e., your PPS numbers, and a pile of profit for whatever water company is prepared to pay the right people to secure.
People should pay for what they use.
Same as car tax should be on fuel used not yearly charge.
They way they went about it is all wrong.
And paying back of bondholders etc should be cut before this is charged to anyone.
We should pay €300 million per year for a 10 year metering program to recoup at best €30 million worth of excessive water usage fines? The contract to supply these meters is up for renewal. This just doesn’t make a lick of sense. Anyone who is not related to the meter company owner by blood should really consider going to the national protest on sat 8th april.
redacted’s shills won’t like this
I’ll be there with bells on. It’s obvious that backroom deals between FF and Fg are been done, in order to try and pull the wool over peoples eyes and fool them into thinking all is fair with the charge for ‘water wasters’ (their new buzzword). However, it will open it up to privatisation due to European competition rules. We need a referendum to enshrine our water and it’s distrubution system as ours as a nation. Not the entity of Irish Water PLC.
Water wasters! Who in Ireland wastes water?
For most families water goes on the dishwasher, the sink to wash the pots, the washing machine, a daily shower per member of the family, a quick scrub or two of the teeth, flushing the toilet, washing hands after it, and the occasional comforting hot bath when it’s freezing or you don’t feel well.
In summer some people turn the hose on the garden occasionally if it’s very dry, but even that is scarcely stratospheric.
This is all a makey-uppy to distract from using Dublin’s famously sprinkler-system-like Victorian water pipework into an excuse to put The Boyz in place for another profitable quango.
I don’t think the politicians realise the depth and breadth of hatred for this tax paid to private enterprise – because most of their friends take the view that “water should be paid for”. Which it should, but not to a private company, however disguised.
Turgenev, they who so love their free ipads seem to forget that information is now readily available to us peasants via the internet. We can see how Berlin, Paris and several major cities re-municipalised their water services after a taste of Privatisation ‘efficiency’. We can see how the British are gouged on their water charges. We can see how it has panned out in the Americas, north and South, where poorer South American countries are being dreadfully treated by these water companies. In North America we have poorer people’s water being cut off for arrears of payment and a ban punishable by prosecution for rainwater harvesting. Yes lads, let’s have plenty of that.
“5% of homes use a third of water supplied to households”
http://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0214/852594-irish-water/
“…the exemplary model of progressive taxation”. That would be the model that has resulted in raw sewage being released into the public system and a network that’s falling asunder. Yea, that an exemplary model, alright.
Yep, the one that was deliberately starved of funding for years.by sucessive Governments. That one.
I can see the conversations now:
Politician #1: Lads, lets underfund the local water water supply.
Politician #2: Why would we do that?
Politician #1: You see, in 20-30 years time the system will be falling apart, and then we can say we can’t afford to fix it and privatise it instead!
Politician #2: Brilliant plan.
Politician #3: Wait what? So we get slated by the electorate every election because the water quality is, literality, poo. For the next 20-30 years. But at that stage someone else will make a shed-load of money. What’s in it for me? How will it help me get re-elected?
Politician #2: We won’t get re-elected? silly plan!
Politician #1: We won’t get re-elected? silly plan!
Politician #4…#99: We won’t get re-elected? silly plan!
What mandate has Ogle got for any of his political platform?
He backed out of standing in the last election, from memory
Ogle will support/oppose whatever gets him in front of a microphone.
He sees where people are going and then leaps out in front to take charge and claim credit.
he has the blushirts on the run, great stuff
” Progressive taxation ” ie the other fella.
The people aren’t going to pay Irish Water so we can improve the infrastructure and then sell it to FGs favourite business person so we can be fleeced.
Let’s have a referendum on public ownership and then tackle the problem.
Very apt (the name).
Cant wait to see FF at this event
just listened to fergal keane’s report on this on drivetime. in his first sentence he said that a march in April would be bad news for retailers. this little snippet of opinion went unchallenged. Keane is married to Tara Buckley the director of RGDATA. maybe Keane should be working for Rgdata not rte.
The greatest peoples movement the state has ever seen. They managed to cost the state a perfectly good metered system and the billions spent setting it up. The revenue shortfall will get filled someplace else most likely from workers.
Or, as has been suggested numerous times, that the money pumped into the set up of IW, along with all of the consultant fees, the pointlessly large salaries of those in charge, and the ‘conservation grant’, ought have been used to update our water facilities.
But natch, Mildred.- but where’s the profit for the politicos buddies in that?
Totes forgot to factor that in.
It’s such a disgusting attitude to have, the level of hoorism, this prevailing attitude of brown envelopes and underhanded dealings to make short-term gain, or international approval. Makes me angry, and I’m enjoying my evening whiskey, so I’d rather not wake the beast.
What’s your tipple of choice, Milly? :)
A strangely nice Teelings, left over from Christmas, but not the worse for it. I’m a one-glass woman, else I find I get a bit grumpy.
I’ve a lovely Tyrconnell that I cant remember the name of, but I only break that out when I need a treat.
And yourself? :)
I’d say he’d drink beer out of a sore arse! :-D
Haha! :)
My go-to is usually wine. Must ask Frilly for a few more recommendations actually.
But I want to try more spirits. There’s a big liquor store around the corner from me with a large selection so should make the most of it!
Enjoy your experimentation – in moderation, of course.
I promise to never go full Memes!
This is not political opportunism. Seriously. Of course it is.
Nowhere has Brendan Ogle or the rest of R2W opportunists mentioned anything about the many thousands of rural dwellers in Ireland who pay for water – either through private group water schemes or else through the considerable expense of drilling a well, maintaining and servicing said well, possibly filtering the water to make it potable and then digging a septic tank and maintaining that septic tank to carry out waste water.
This is a politically opportunist scheme to take voters in Dublin and large urban areas.
You want free water – put a barrel outside to catch rain water and drink from that or maybe wander down to the Liffey or Lee, put a bucket in, carry it home and use that.
if you want clean water out of your tap, pay for it – like the majority of rural Ireland.
Right on cue – quick lads let’s play the good old urban/rural divide. For good measure, keep posting the middle class /working class divide. Every little helps – mendacious and pathetic.